“Incrementalism is how we slide into participation by imperceptible degrees so that there is never the sense of a frontier being crossed.”

—-

Jonathan Glover

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“Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.”

—-

Kahlil Gibran

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Well.

Incrementalism is a virus. And once you catch it is a sonuvabitch to cure.

I, personally, believe the entire business world, including new business incubators, has this virus. Incrementalism has seeped its way not only into mainstream business but also mainstream ‘innovation’ pipelines.

Yeah. Innovations too.

I dare any of you to walk the halls of your local business incubation center and find a real, “break the etch-a-sketch” idea in there. If you are lucky, you will find one. The majority of innovation ideas these days, incubators as well as established companies, is all about incrementally leveraging from something existing.

Sure. They may claim its “unique” and “a whole new way of doing things” but the majority of the time, lets say 98% of the time, it is a derivative of something that exists. That is how far the incrementalism virus has reached into the business world.

But this post today isn’t about innovation. This is about how incrementalism just makes us sad. It makes us sad because if you embrace incrementalism that means you have given up on … well … something that is not incremental. You have given up on being able to do something big and risky and game changing. And, worst, you’ve given up on making any substantial decisions <because incrementalism is simply an excuse for not making a clear cut decision>.

Now.

You may not believe you have given it up because we, in the business world, actually cleverly use incrementalism to convince ourselves we are actually achieving big changes.

….. incrementalism dance ………

We do the dance of ‘small steps to achieve big change’ which is kind of some odd waltz in which we make the same moves over and over again and point to change as “we improved how we dance” <but we are still in the same place dancing with the same person dancing to the same music>.

To be clear.

Even I, someone who loves change and “shaking the etch-a-sketch” in business, have been sucked into the black hole of incrementalism.

We do an incredibly good job of convincing ourselves that big change is hard, shit, that any change is hard and almost impossible to do it is do difficult. Given that, we do an incredibly good job of convincing ourselves that the only way to effectively successfully implement change is through smaller thoughtful steps. All leading to, we do an incredibly good job of convincing ourselves of all that, in fact, so much so that’s all we do.

Look.

Big change is possible. You just need to be smart, thoughtful and choose the ‘big’ wisely and with open eyes. But nowadays we view ‘big’ as some place we need to work our way towards and not just something we do. Unfortunately, as soon as we step onto the incrementalism slippery slope it, more often than not, causes everyone to slide, unintentionally, into unchanging behavior <or microscopic change increments>. This means everyone does small thing after small thing which make everyone feel like they are changing and that shit is changing … uhm … all the while the world itself is changing faster.

This means in our incrementalism we are moving forward and, yet, falling behind. It’s like walking on a moving sidewalk in the wrong direction.

Maybe the worst part?

We do not even see the backwards effect of our supposed forward movement. This happens mostly because most of us suck at not only changing but perceiving change. We easily lose sight of any change as we focus on the incremental activity we have wholly embraced as ‘progress’ <because we say in our minds: “big change is impossible and this is the way to do it!”>.

The other very real danger of incrementalism is that while you have your head down focused on the incremental task at hand not only may the rest of the world be moving faster than you – it may even turn. So you will keep plugging away plodding down your incrementalism path and all the while the rest of the world is now trundling away in a completely different direction.

By the way … in business this is bad.

Anyway.

I will absolutely admit that most of the business world absolutely recognizes the importance of seeking to continuously reinvent and, yet, sadly mostly we are actually just going through the motions. The motions may look incredibly sensible but they really aren’t achieving any change of any significance.

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the term Incrementalism is also used as a synonym for Gradualism. Incrementalism is a method of working by adding to a project using many small incremental changes instead of a few (extensively planned) large jumps.

Logical incrementalism implies that the steps in the process are sensible.

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I fully admit that change is hard <and it pays to be sensible>. And I fully admit that big change is even harder … and more risky <and it pays to be sensible>.

But that isn’t my point.

My point is that it seems like we have convinced ourselves in the business world that change is ALWAYS best achieved gradually and incrementally. We should always find the easy small steps and do them.

So what <you may be asking>?

This means we begin measuring the success of the business not by any real change but rather defining our usefulness and worthiness by measuring it in increments versus the past. Incrementalism more often than not doesn’t get measured by how much closer to the ‘big change’ you are but rather by how far you have gone from what you were.

Uhm.

That is nuts. And while it is nuts that is almost exactly how over 90% of business conduct business <and their change>. Worse? This incremental behavior decision making actually bleeds into incremental decision making in general. Everyone starts believing that a bold decision just isnt worth it when you know everyone feels comfortable with an incremental decision.

Look.

While I always advocate timely good big change, I certainly would advocate embracing incrementalism on occasion. Business change is, and as always been, about choice. You look around and choose where incrementalism may be most effective and where ‘big change’ is actually needed. In other words … for doing smart change … you do both within your business.

Yeah.

I can do both at the same time. This has two benefits:

Organization:all businesses need to be reinvented in some way. I cannot remember one business I have seen or been involved in that hadn’t established some routine that didn’t need to be changed significantly. Incrementalism steadies the organization by not destroying something but rather fine tuning it. Conversely when you tie big change to the organization elsewhere it energizes the organization that it is being smart <to not change everything> but bold <in that it is willing to make selective smart big changes>. Showing both is the best of both worlds.

The employee/individual: incrementalism is a virus almost like mononucleosis. It encourages employees to almost sleepwalk through the day. When you inject big change and encourage everyone to believe it can be done and develop a plan to show it can be done and activate people to start getting it done, individual employees are reminded that there IS something more than either the status quo or ‘incremental and gradual change’ <which they were struggling to discern from the everyday grind anyway>.

I don’t want to kill incrementalism but I certainly want to breathe new life into “big”.

Just know this about incrementalism … the problem is that incrementalism is seductively sleepy. It’s the Prozac of business strategy. All I can really suggest is that every business should stop taking Prozac on occasion and watch how the pulse of the company picks up … they may find that Life off of Prozac just isn’t that bad. More importantly, they may find they can shrug off the sadness of incrementalism and have a happier organization. And that is a good thing in business.

“Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”

–

Mark Twain

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So.

This one has been stewing in my pea-like brain for awhile. Every once in awhile you have a conversation with someone that makes you think … because it kind of rocks you to your core of being.

I had one of those.

I had dinner with an old friend. This is a friend who may qualify as one of the nicest guys on the entire planet … and a guy who has seemingly lost faith in human race’s ability to do the right thing. Sound harsh?

Well. It sounded tough sitting there too. And it made me not only think about him, and what got him started down this path and the ultimate place he current resides mentally, but it also made me think about us … as people.

I will begin with the crux of the discussion.

He began with “Why don’t people do the right thing when they obviously know what the right thing to do is?” And he said it with a cynicism and disdain in talking about why people don’t do the right thing (even when it is so obvious it is impossible not to know). This was a 3 pitchers of beer type of ‘how do I wrap my head around that question and why is it true?”

So.

The issue seems simple at its foundation. Simple … because knowing what’s “right” isn’t enough. People can easily discern the difference between right and wrong. We all really know the right thing to do.

Well.

Lets say 99.9% of people do. I say this upfront because I believe a lot of people get caught up focusing on the wrong things when thinking about this issue (because a BOATLOAD of people are thinking about this issue).

It’s in our actions that it all seems to start falling apart, as in:

“I know I shouldn’t do this, but I’m going to do it anyway.”

Some people are so far gone that this thought is fleeting prior to taking action. But, thankfully, for most people this is a thoughtful – or thoughtful enough that it is recognizable mentally – process. Therefore I want to focus on what happens between what we know we should do and what we actually do.

Whew. Let me suggest several things about not doing the right thing:

1. We are not born wanting to do the wrong thing. In fact as children we see the best in everyone. We have hope that good is the majority and is the strongest and will win out over “those who seek to do wrong.” So something goes wrong over time (ok. So something happens over time that skews that perspective).

2. Changed perspective doesn’t happen overnight. Sure. Some ‘big thing’ can happen that swings you 180degrees in terms of cynicism and self focus. But more likely we begin to see questions of “do they have good intentions” creep in when assessing what actions we SHOULD take and slowly cynicism overcomes ‘light with dark’.

3. It is now a cultural/generation issue (so I am saying it is a BIG issue). It appears we are shifting as people who used to believe ‘innocent until proven guilty’ to a culture of ‘guilty until proven innocent’. That, my friends, is a big thing. A really big thing. And, frankly, I worry it will affect children’s attitudes as they grow up. Regardless. We are becoming a people focused on“ I have to focus on what’s right for me because if I don’t I am gonna get screwed.”

And that means while we often referred to the Millennials as the “me generation” we should be altering that to say we are ALL now in the “me generation.”

Ok. Let’s be clear. I am NOT writing about social responsibility. This is about individual responsibility. This is about ‘me’ making a decision (with an eye on how it impacts the overarching ‘we’).

Look.

The gap between understanding what is right and the action is manageable – society pressure withstanding. Even though you may know something is wrong and you have a desire to want to do it you, an empowered individual, need to figure out how to leave it, this ‘me-focused-desire-thing’ in your head’s fantasyland. Unfortunately. We are human. And the outside world affects how we think and how we behave.

I am not going to suggest this is a moral or ethical discussion (although much of it is).

I am going to suggest that the true battle today on this “do the right thing” war is more about the individual <and what is inside the individual>. I say this to make a point about the individualism versus collectivism construct battle (an “I versus a “we” moral construct … or ‘what is right for me’ versus ‘what is right for the ‘we’ battle).

Because the battle is, and should be, fought individually.

This is about pessimism winning out over positive. Or even cynicism overcoming optimism. And all these things become important because a thought becomes a belief. And a belief becomes an action. And, ultimately, an action becomes our behavior <re-occurring actions>.

All of these words I am using should be suggesting that there’s more to this issue than a simple question of right or wrong. There are many things wrapped up in “why aren’t people doing the right thing more often.”

“I just try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Yeah. This is about winning and losing. Winning and losing in life. Not a game. Plato and Socrates believed that moral virtue was the most valuable thing. Essentially, they believed “virtue is its own reward.” The key to this lies in the notion that “virtue is the health of the soul.”

Therefore, doing the right thing doesn’t translate into anything tangible (ignore the whole concept of “good things happen to good people”) but rather something of a higher order self-benefit.

Uh oh. Trouble.

Because the intangible ‘health of soul’ doesn’t mean shit when you start thinking about tangibles when we begin to view the rest of the world as “out to get me.” And we begin cocooning our decisions and center everything around “what’s in it for me” (or “I have to look out for me because no one else will’).

Yes. I do understand that all of us have an interest in adding to our happiness, whether that is some pleasure of the moment, success in a job, or whatever it takes. If what is right and what is in our own interest coincide, we have no problem doing the right thing. Or maybe we’re willing to do the right thing (and avoid some guilt) only if it’s a little inconveniently “not the right thing for me.”

But. It is when what is right and what makes us happy are opposites (or we feel significant risk to our benefit and happiness) when we reach a real dilemma (problem).

I am not naïve. I know that at times like this, when strong desires pull us in opposite directions, it’s hard to do the ethical ‘right’ thing <for someone else>. And when we do resist the temptation of doing something other than the right thing we usually want to feel that somehow we’re going to get something for it. That may not be very high-minded, but most of us, when confronted with moral dilemmas, really want to ask: “What’s in it for me if I do what’s right?”

It doesn’t have to be fame and fortune, it may just be a good feeling about who we are, or it can be pain avoidance (I didn’t get screwed or yelled at or whatever). But most of us want a good positive response reason to be good.

Enough already. Back to the core issue. Doing the right thing. Why should we do the right thing?

A simple question. The answer, although it may seem simple, is probably the most difficult task in ethics. Legal systems and religious traditions seemingly have an easy time giving us the answer.

“We should do what’s right in order to avoid punishment for doing wrong–either in this life or the next.”

But real every day life just isn’t that simple (see the word “legal” and “religious” I used in the sentence prior and the nuances and debatable aspects of both make your head spin). All of this is very hard to do. Yet. It does boil down to something really simple in concept.

This all seems to boil down to “step up and do the right thing…” or “just do the right thing…”

Sounds easy. But, once again, even that isn’t simple. Doing the right thing isn’t that easy. In fact, it’s pretty near impossible some of the time. Someone online outlined a couple problems as examples:

1. Doing the right thing is hard work and horribly painful. It can hurt. Doing the right thing is always harder than doing the wrong thing. That’s why it’s so easy to not do the right thing. You naturally just slip into the behaviors that hurt you the least. When you have to make hard, painful decisions that affect you and the people that you love, doing the right things suddenly looks like the wrong thing.

2. Doing the right thing isn’t always clear. — What is right today might look horribly selfish and self-centered a year from now when you look back. Isn’t it better to have that introspective discussion now rather than a year from now? And even when you look at the choices in front of you with an open mind there are always a few options that you probably haven’t considered.

You don’t know everything. Choosing “good” might look bad if a “better” or “best” were clear.

In every aspect you can think of … well … it is difficult to do the right thing <and be sure it is the right thing>.

Any aspect. Figuratively, emotionally, financially and even physically.

But. Here is the deal (as I get close to finishing this rant) In general, being successful has always been about doing the hard things. So doing the right thing falls squarely into this category.

Yeah.

Once again. I get it. It shouldn’t be hard. And we shouldn’t have to feel pain (financially, emotionally, whatever) if we do the right thing. But. The only way you can truly get a grip on this ‘do the right thing’ issue is to wrap your head around the fact we are all in the hope business.

All of us. Every day. Even with seemingly inconsequential type actions.

We all are dealers of hope. Because if we don’t do the right thing then we give no one ‘hope’ it can be better or get better. And if we do not look at it that way then it becomes a doom loop of ‘doing the wrong things.’ How to break the loop? Well … shit ... do the right thing.

Why?

You have forgotten something. Cynicism and the belief you are gonna get screwed if you do the right thing has made you forget you can make a difference. And even if the difference is one person … or one event … that one person maybe begets another person … and another … and then, well, you are starting to make a difference.

But someone has to be the first. Because if we don’t step up and start doing the right things I fear in the end we will not be able to measure our lives in anything but material and tangible things. In “here is what I have and did” rather than “did I do the right thing” measurement.

The first is great from an individual standpoint.

The second is better because it shows up on your gravestone and people stop and read it and they smile and they feel better. It impacts others not just ‘self’ (although it does affect self in a very meaningful way)

In religious circles they state this as “setting aside pride, lust, materialism and act based upon love, compassion and self sacrifice.”

So.

As I stated earlier in this little diatribe of mine … this is NOT about social responsibility. This is about individual responsibility. This is about ‘me’ making a decision (with an eye on how it impacts the overarching ‘we’).

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“That’s what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong and that decency will somehow triumph in the end.”

–

Lisa Hand

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My friend’s discomforting discussion reminds me we all need to step up and be a little bit of a hero. On a day to day basis. And not for the sake of being called an actual hero but for the sake of … well … what is right. And the impact you can have on one person … and in this case a friend. Someone who could easily have been called the nicest guy in the world and life has eroded to a state of cynicism. Because someone didn’t step up … and do the right thing.

So that decency triumphs.

All that said. If you agree, then just do the right thing when you have the opportunity.

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“Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.”

“There are tiresome people who say that if you ever find yourself in a difficult situation, you should stop and figure out the right thing to do.

But there are times in this harum-scarum world when figuring out the right thing to do is quite simple, but doing the right thing is simply impossible, and then you must dosomething else.”

—

Lemony Snicket

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“She wasn’t doing a thing that I could see, except standing there, leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.”

–

J.D. Salinger

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Ok.

To do or not to do is the question. That is a question a business leader gets faced with on almost a daily basis and certainly on a weekly basis.

Now.

Not all “do’s” are created equal particularly if your job is to hold the universe together. And, frankly, that is what a leader of a larger business organization does – holds the universe together. That universe has multiple layers … the business itself is at the core <because without the business the rest is irrelevant>, the employees as well as the greater universe which I will call ‘the industry’ <because your decisions either make the universe stronger or break it apart in some way>.

And I bring up the universe because that is what doing versus not doing is all about. Doing, or not doing, sends out a ripple which impacts the greater universe and, often, it is difficult to envision how the universe will react.

Yeah. That is a fairly important point to ‘decision second guessers.’ Why? Ripples are difficult to envision and second guessers tend to focus on ‘cause & affect’ criticism … linear relationships.

I rarely debate what some business leader actually does because, frankly, the decision itself is almost the least important aspect … it is most likely what comes next that matters – how you adapt to what the universe does in response to your decision & action. However. I do watch very closely as to how a business leader makes a choice because context, and reaction to the context, matters <and we all face this when stressed under a do-or-not-do decision>.

The biggest sign to watch for is ‘the use of simple equivalency on nuanced complex issues.’Because if you see it … well … it is kind of a defense mechanism to a very stressful decision.

Universe impacting choices kind of put a leader in a corner.

They get squeezed. Personally, I do not like squeezed situation decisions. And I really don’t like when business leaders feel like they HAVE to make a decision simply because they are in a squeezed situation <especially if they themselves created the squeeze>. I am fairly harsh in my judgement with leaders who offer the simplistic “I did this because of this” simplicity and suggest a simplistic ‘we will be better off because of this’ but I will be less harsh on the decision itself. I believe all of that is fair because the situation in which the decision is made is fair game but decisions are decisions and, whatever the situation, once the die are cast the die are cast.

Look.

First & foremost I am an unequivocal do the right thing person. The thought of not doing the right thing galls me … makes me shiver to the core. Sure. From a realistic point of view that doesn’t mean I always do the right thing just that first & foremost I begin with decision making from a what the right thing to do place. And before anyone throws out the infamous ‘how can you know the right thing to do?’ I would suggest that maybe 98.863718% of the time figuring out the right thing to do is quite simple.

But, yes, sometimes … doing the exact right thing is simply impossible. Huh? How is that possible? Oh. That universe thing.

When you are holding the universe together there are easy moral decisions, there are easy right decisions … but it is never easy to see how they will always affect the universe and more often than not actually doing the right thing is a combination of luck and ability to adapt.

Sigh.

Having made some of these types of decisions myself I find second guessing these decisions tiresome. I am more than willing to judge the motivations behind the decisions. I am more than willing to judge how a leader responds to what happens when the universe responds. But I am always hesitant if not refuse to judge the decision itself.

Ok. That said.

While I believe the universe, in general, is indifferent to our fate … I do believe the universe has a nasty habit of responding to us when we actually try to make something happen to our fate <like a business leader making a decision>. To be clear. If you do nothing … you will gain nothing. Actually. If you do nothing you will get less than nothing. Mostly because the universe is … well … indifferent. It will not pay attention to you unless you pay attention to it <because it is far too busy focusing on those who have done something to make the universe break apart in some way>.

I say that because I think some people believe if they knew there would be no consequences for their actions they would lead a fuller life. They would have the courage to do more and take some chances.

Maybe have the courage to let themselves go forward. And they do nothing because they fear the consequences. They have forgotten that the Universe is indifferent.

And there is the tricky thing about the Universe. It is kind of a trap for a business leader. Doing more, taking some chances, and even simply making decisions, means more responsibility for actions.

It is simple math.

The more you ‘do’ the more shit you can be blamed for … or … given credit for or even have to actually do to react & adapt <there is a ratio relationship to a choice in that 1 decision can beget 10 necessary actions/decisions in response to the universe’s response>.

Well. Here is where I come back to motivation for the decision and being in a squeezed situation. In today’s world if it doesn’t appear like you are doing something … then … well … damn it … you aren’t doing something. In today’s warped business view you have to be doing something that can be seen because if you don’t everyone is convinced you are doing nothing. I call it being challenged by the ‘outcome mentality’ and, as a business leader, this is a headwind you face every morning you walk into the office.

That headwind constantly blows against anything that suggests outcome, or output, is not everything.

That’s not really truth but let’s assume for here that output is truly all that matters <note: that was extremely painful for me to type>. So what if your output is … well … holding the universe together.

Sometimes you run across that leader … or sometimes a manager … or a young employee <with the potential to do so> who holds the business or the organization together … but sometimes when you look you cannot see what they are actually doing. They may be often seen doing nothing but standing there leaning on the balcony rail.

Uh oh. In today’s business world that person is screwed.

Look.

I’m not suggesting you want people who do nothing … but sometimes people who look like they are doing nothing are actually doing a lot of something. And sometimes it is difficult to measure these people up against ‘outcome focused generators’ and particularly difficult to measure from outside a C-level perspective <employees and those looking at you without direct relationship>. What I mean by that is I have had people in my teams where during review time I have had to stack employees and justify their salary, job status, existence within the organization, whatever review line item you want to call it … based on ‘what have they done’, i.e., tangible outcome crap.

And … well … sometimes your most valuable employee doesn’t look so hot based on sheer tangible outcome. It is only when you build in intangibles that they rise above the tangible outputters <not sure that is a word>. I note that example because holding the universe together is a particular intangible talent … and one that demands a massive strength of character.

I bring up character because that is at the heart & soul of ‘to do or not to do.’ I do get a little concerned that the business world pendulum has swung so far over to outcome & output that those who ‘hold the universe together’ is becoming a dying breed. Maybe I am less concerned for the immediate … but over time. Because the young people with this talent and ability simply cannot protect themselves from an output world without help. And if all we do in business is to promote outputters … well … enough said. You get it.

Anyway.

To do or not to do.

That is the question every business leader faces … all … the … frickin … time. And while I imagine we should judge them based on whether they did or didn’t do … I would suggest I am more interested in judging business leaders on ‘the decisions after the decision.’ Frankly, that is what defines a great business leader for a couple of reasons:

Decisions are rarely one-and-done.

Decisions impact the universe … and with many unintended consequences. And your job is to hold the universe together. Which means you have to keep an eye on the consequences of your decision … all the time.

Decisions accumulate.

Remember the ‘keep an eye on the consequences’? Well. One decision begets 10 different consequences all of which may need a specific response/decision. Uh oh. And you make one of these decisions every day … maybe every week … yikes … every week I have to try and keep a finger on the pulse of a universe in which I am now pondering hundreds of different consequences. A decision does not, okay, rarely, makes something go away which means every week your particular universe gets larger and larger.

All of that is why ‘to do or not to do’ decision should never be made flippantly or for self-purposes … because the larger decisions are more about the universe than they are about the leader themselves. I judge motivations, and we all should, but once a decision is made the die is cast and you begin judging on how a leader responds to how the universe responds.

This is about disruption and business. This is one of my favorite words & topics. It is one of my favorites for two reasons.

First is that it is an overlooked way to be successful in the marketplace. Far too often businesses simply seek to “compete.” They are satisfied with standing in the ring and bludgeon each other all the while suggesting that this is “smart fighting giving me an edge.” It is not. Shit. “Edges” <in this case> is simply staying in the fight and not a plan to win a fight. Disruption is all about wins and winning.

Second. It is one of the few words in business that if you actually deign to use in a meeting or business discussion will draw a visceral response from your audience. From a ‘fun’ perspective it is maybe even more fun than farting in the middle of a presentation.

Anyway.

Disruption, or disrupt, is an emotive word often creating a very unsettling image. And it is a topic which typically scares the shit out of most businesses <and business people>. The excuses to ‘not being so disruptive’ are too long to list … and some are quite creative. But suffice it to say … almost every excuse is grounded in fear.

Yeah.

All those “whoa … slow down on that whole disruption talk” people may suggest ‘it is expensive to do something like that’ but they are simply shaping excuses in their heads & mouths because the whole thought of disrupting anything … well … scares the shit out of them.

Now.

To be clear on definitions <and purpose> … the aim of disruption is to frame <or reframe> a business <or a brand> so that the market sees it differently. Well. I could suggest it is actually simply turning around and facing reality.

——-

“At some point you just have to turn around and face your life head on.”

Chris Cleave

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What I mean by that is disrupting is most typically simply attacking some conventional thinking and tapping into what people really think <when they actually think about it>. And many times it is really common sense stuff. It is common sense because it is many times rooted in the fact we just get stuck either in ‘that’s the way its done’ … or maybe we have become so numb to the fact we have bolted on crap to the brand <or company> in day to day attempts to keep it relevant that it is almost unfamiliar to what people originally thought of it <we just made it too complex or complicated>.

Please note … this whole disruption thing, while I love it, is not my idea.

Jean Marie Dru, the Chairman of TBWA has been talking about the power of “disruption” since the early 1990s. His book, Disruption: Overturning Conventions and Shaking Up the Marketplace, is a must read for anyone who likes this shit <and it is actually a delightful read for a business book>. Interestingly … even Tom Peters <the ‘in search of excellence’ guy> thought the concept of disruption was topical … even decades ago.

——

“Disrupt or be disrupted. Disrupt or die.

Disruption is the most powerful idea in business today.”

Tom Peters

——

I tend to believe disruption gets a bad rap because it implies wholesale change. Like as in throw out everything and start from scratch. Au contraire. Disrupting is always about leveraging off of something existing. You may turn everything upside down … but you are still using some existing pieces <some existing attitudes & behavior> from which your idea will end up tapping into. I say that to remind everyone that something from nothing equals the same thing as nothing from nothing … uhm … nothing. Smart, or intelligent, disrupting is always about something from something.

——

“If in a company you change nothing, you are sure to fail. If you change everything you are sure to fail as well.

So the art of winning resides in your capacity to draw the fine line between what should be changed and what should not.

Same for a brand. All brands are in transition. You can’t build brands by thinking only in a linear way. You have to think of larger futures for them. And to do that, you have to use your imagination. A larger share of the future very seldom comes from an extrapolation of the present.

And that is what Disruption is all about. Disruption is about discovering new futures.”

=

Jean Marie-Dru

——

Let’s be honest here. New futures sound frickin’ awesome.

Uhm. Here’s the problem. Futures are not guaranteed, are they?

Doh.

Success is getting people to think and act differently. <doh again>

That translates into … yikes … change.

Here is the good news about this whole disruptive change topic. Effective disruptive thinking is not some blind irresponsible thinking. It takes into consideration all the levels of change it effects and addresses them.

—–

“Disruption demands that a company challenges conventional behaviors and finds a new way to act.

If you analyze the behavior of the category in question you will see conventional patterns of activity are apparent on four levels: corporate, marketing, communications and the customer’s point of view. Some of these conventions are invariably good and necessary, while others are not.

The opportunity lies in seeing how a brand can use its strengths to do something less conventional to change its path and accelerate growth.”

=

Matt Shepherd-Smith, CEO, TBWA\London

—–

To be clear. There is truly a difference in disruption and intelligent disruption. Disruption in and of itself … without thought … is meaningless destruction creating chaos. Intelligent disruption leads change from what exists rather than reacting to what exists and … well … creates something new <not chaos>.

Anyway.

Here are few more thoughts by Jean-Marie Dru about brand building and the importance of disruption:

—

– Disruption is creating something dynamic to replace something that has become static.

– I have always believed that a brand has to evolve. It cannot remain motionless. The same, of course, applies to companies.

—

While all those words sound inspiring and thoughtful and … well … what business person WOULDN’T want to do that? Well. Disruption actually is linked to another word which business people tend to really really dislike … destruction. Destruction of the conventional … the comfortable. Conventions train us to do the conventional. And because it is conventional … we tend to not really think about this shit.

Uhm. Yes. Accepted beliefs, where everyone is thinking the same, usually means no one is really thinking. This all translates into destroying some of the accepted beliefs … uhm … which means destroying … well … familiarity.

Yet … within destruction there should be a surge of energy <from people and a business perspective because disruption is actually both strategy and action>.

What do I believe <see: “know”>?

Too much business thinking today is satisfied with maintaining the status quo.

This is doomed thinking. Thinking is at its best when used as a sharp weapon and used to transform business and the way people think <and do things>. Far too much thinking <and the tactics which arise from that thinking> look the same, say the same, and … well … do the same.

All of which simply makes it easier to be ignored.

Worse?

It doesn’t respect people’s intelligence or their sense of <thinking> adventure. Therefore disruption incorporates destructing some of ‘what is.’

Not just for the sake of destruction but rather with the intent to be singular, extraordinary, and even world-changing is inspiring and interesting and adventuresome. Disrupting is done with the intent to stand out from the crowd and get noticed in a way that fundamentally changes perceptions. I imagine I could quite simplistically suggest that great disruptive thinking challenges the prevailing ideas of the present, therefore, disruption sounds difficult, unsettling, painful and fundamentally frightening.

Why would anybody disrupt, and destroy, on purpose?

Well.

Here is the contradiction … you are actually destroying to create.

=

It’s about creation – creating something dynamic to replace something that has become static.

Disruption is about systematically breaking through the barriers that shape and limit standard business approaches. It’s about challenging conventional wisdom and imagining new possibilities. It’s about destroying the assumptions and biases that get in the way of fresh and visionary ideas.

<Jean Marie-Dru>

=

This actually means that the other thing where disruption gets a bad rap is that it is used as a verb … when it is actually a noun when done correctly.

Yup. Because disruption is actually a destination … a vision of what could, and should, be … against which all strategic and marketing decisions are measure. This means that disruptive ideas are simply ways to get to the vision as fast as possible.

This also means that you are taking a stand. A stand for not what is … but what will be. You are changing the rules <and frankly doing so in your favor>.

To be clear.

Disruption is not anarchy <nor chaos>. It is a strategically directed shake-up. It’s a way of thinking. It means taking nothing for granted.

It means being bold and taking some risk.

It means you are actually inventing a future in which you not only want to live … but one in which you can prosper.

Anyone in business worth even half a shit knows that the path to truly winning <and winning big> in business is to create new categories or subcategories rather than engaging in brand preference competition in established categories.

The idea of creating a new category, defining its dimensions and becoming its ‘definer’ <of which everyone else has to measure against> is where true success <financially> resides.

Sure. Many businesses need to engage in brand preference competition to retain their relevance and market position. But that is a defensive strategy. And, trust me, someone is going to go on the offensive at some point.

Anyway.

Disruption simply means ‘to challenge.’ And we all need to remember that disruption creates and is not simply to destroy. That doesn’t mean everything is all rosy if you get it right.

Technological disruption re-defines industries.

Cultural disruption always seems to piss people off.

Why?

Challenging people … and the status quo … can make people angry.

What do I say? Fuck ‘em.

Disruption by challenging the status quo improves culture. Is there conflict? You bet.

Does that conflict lead to a spark of energy? You bet. And from the spark comes improvement.

Look.

We are all disruptors. Just that some of us know it and some of us don’t.

—-

“We are all manufacturers – making good, making trouble or making excuses.”

=

HV Adolt

——-

Ok. Frankly. All that really matters despite all I babbled about <typed> … is you either choose to disrupt … or be disrupted.

“It’s the people who no one imagines anything of, who do the things that no one imagines.”

–

The Imitation Game

====

The people who get overlooked in business.

The misfits.

The discarded.

The eclectic.

The ‘different.’

I have always gravitated to these people. I have always tended to hire these people. I have always found these people interesting, rewardingly challenging to know & manage and … well … most likely the key to any success I have found in Life – personally & professionally. They aren’t really misfits and, yet, they don’t seem to fit in with what the majority of people either want or just “look for.” That said. I am gonna call them “misfits.”

I have found I learn more from the misfits. They are the curves in the winding road which have a tendency to share new vistas. They are the ones independent of the traditional ‘expected’ and are truly the unique.

But let’s be clear.

While we seem to celebrate uniqueness & independence … society and culture has pushed back those who practiced uniqueness and independence since the dawn of civilization. I could suggest it is because we naturally gravitate to ‘commonalities’ and are more comfortable in seamlessness but instead I will suggest it is because they are perceived to pose some sort of threat to what is perceived as the natural order of things and what should be.

The backbone of all society & culture is an undercurrent of conformity. This shouldn’t be necessarily perceived as any type of real limitation because people and society inherently coalesce around what looks best, feels best and does the best for the majority. It is kind of a natural gravitational pull.

And then there are those who fight that gravitational pull.

The misfits as it were.

They are the ones who for any variety of reasons fight against the undercurrent of conformity not to ‘be different’ but rather because they see that conformity has a tendency to make people give up their dreams and play small <or smaller than possibilities may suggest is possible>. It’s more common to “fit in” and slot yourself in some sort of ‘dream of who I could be’ rather than step out and create that dream.

That’s maybe why I love misfits.

As an enabler of misfits I often found myself benefiting from the fact I was part of ‘dream creators’ rather than ‘dream slotters’ <they had dreams of their own they wanted to create if given an opportunity to do so>. But the path of a misfit is not an easy one. It is a tricky path strewn with obstacles, resistance, and frequent feelings of isolation/loneliness/ self doubt. It becomes very easy for a misfit to get angry as they perceive more obstacles, more resistance and more isolation than the average person.

That is the lot in life of being a misfit.

I loved teaching misfits, or maybe even just encouraging them, to learn how to successfully swim upstream and go against the undercurrent of conformity in the river of life.

Look.

I am not one of those people who will unequivocally state that Misfits can win big in Life <although they can>. I would simply suggest that many <most> misfits aren’t really misfits. They come in all shapes & sizes. They are simply people who embrace their personal characteristics as part of not what makes them different but rather what makes them successful as a person.

The most comfortable of the misfits do not really celebrate their so-called misfit characteristics but rather wear them like a comfortable sweatshirt.

These are the people who don’t ignore the beat of the majority drummer but are more in tune with their own drummer.

These are the people who tend to create things beyond the norm. They imagine what could be more easily than the ones who see more of what is <and try to improve it>.

Later in life these are the people who tend to exhibit compassion. They have fought the undercurrent and faced the obstacles … and have endured the nicks & dents and proudly stand as no longer a misfit … but just a unique person who has a strong sense of self. Therefore they tend to be compassionate not to misfits as people but rather a person’s sense of self <which is actually the more important key>.

I have been extremely fortunate in Life and I credit the misfits. Having had the perfect seat to get the best perspective on all that is ‘misfit’ I have been able to develop my own belief system and independent individualistic perspective on business and life.

They have also shown me the challenges of fighting the status quo.

They have shown me how tiring it can be swimming against the undercurrent.

They have shown me how a powerful conviction, without some selective strategic compromise, is often destined for a weary bitter Life.

They have shown me what happens when you choose to not follow the norms and customs of the environment.

Ultimately, though, there is a power that is associated with misfitdom. There is a power found in acknowledging that you are different … and most likely have always been different. And that different is not necessarily bad.

It is just different. That is all it is.

I am pleased that I was one who appreciated the differences and encouraged the ‘misfits’ in life.

I am pleased that I encouraged people to find what was within and to remember that you are allowed to be different and you are allowed to be who you are.

I am mostly pleased because by embracing misfits I became a better person and a better business leader. Misfits changed me from being yellow to … well … a variety of colors.

=====

“All your life you’re yellow.

Then one day you brush up against something blue, the barest touch, and voila, the rest of your life you’re green. “

—

Tess Callahan

=======

I most likely learned significantly more from misfits than they learned from me. And I am sure I would have been a significantly more bland person if I hadn’t had the pleasure of the company of misfits.

Anyway.

I think we have a tendency to overlook misfits far too often. And they are the ones, the ones we least imagine having the capability, who are most likely to imagine what no one else imagines. I will always embrace the discarded, the ‘less-than-wanted’, the misfits. I will do so recognizing not everyone will. And whenever I get the opportunity I pull them off to the side and say ‘be stubborn and keep working and keep fighting.’

I do so because without them we would all be yellow.

==

“I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting.”

In addition … the outside world seems to get crazier and crazier and more chaotic which encourages the majority of us to just hunker down and get shit done. It encourages us to not only NOT think about dreaming but even worse …“why dream? I just need to figure out a way of surviving.” It just doesn’t seem pragmatic to dream <note: it never has>.

All that said.

I have two thoughts today.

The first is the increasing importance of businesses to an individual’s dreams, and dreaming, and the second is just about dreaming itself.

Ok. The first.

I believe the business world is going to start playing an incredibly important role with regard to the future of dreaming. In fact. I believe the successful business organization of the future will be a ‘dream incubator’rather than the current, more pop culture popular, ‘purpose drive’ organization. And I say that as a ‘purpose driven organization’ believer.

Let me explain.

The outside world, as I have noted earlier, doesn’t really seem conducive to dreams and dreaming.

The inside world, your job and business Life, is becoming more and more focused on the daily grind and meeting the needs of the grind. In general we are getting squeezed but dreaming, in particular, is getting suffocated.

This means there is little space in-between the outside world and inside world for dreams and dreaming. This is where I believe business steps in and maybe sharpens its elbows and creates some space for individual people to remember having dreams can be good and dreaming can actually be a good thing. Businesses can step in and remind people that there is big value in pragmatism and personal responsibility in doing a good job AS WELL AS there may be an equal value in placing a dream or two within the pragmatic ‘do what you need to do’ Life … it kind of adds some rich & royal hues to what could be a duller palette.

Now.

Let me address the practical aspect of business and how the idea of ‘dream incubator’ can fit … because a shitload of shortsighted business people are going to suggest they have no desire to have their employees “dreaming” … they want them focused on doing their jobs.

Purpose was offered as a glue to hold together, and align, functional behavior <departments & responsibilities> of an organization while providing a deeper value to instill in attitudes & behavior. It certainly offered a version of a North Star from an ethical & moral standpoint but its true objective was to take the place of ‘vision’ in a pragmatic business world seemingly devoid of anything but functional outcome driven behavior.

Good intent. Good objective.

My belief of ‘dream incubator’ is less functional driven but rather attitudinally driven. My belief is that in a world in which dreaming is not being encouraged a business which encourages you to pursue your dreams WITHIN the business itself will be rewarded <attitudinally, functionally & profitability>.

My belief is that employees, in general, are not driven by their departmental function <which is actually more the ‘keep your head down and do what you need to do’ daily grind> but rather by their dreams — $, ideas, innovations and … well … let me suggest “perfection.”

<please note: this is a simplified version of a more complex organizational idea which I have shared elsewhere, in other words, I know there are more layers to this concept>

‘perfection.’

Some people dream of operational excellence. They get frustrated with politics and missteps and the normal inefficient behavior of a normal organization. These are the ones who offer up the zany process changes which, as a manager, you look at, screw up your face and think “Jesus Christ, what a mosh pit this would be to implement.” And, yet, these are the same zany changes which the organization most likely NEEDS to do to step up from where it is currently running.

$

It would be naïve to ignore the fact some employees are financially motivated and that their dreams are tied to more material aspects. They want money and things and your objective should be to inspire them to dream for more and be the organization which can enable their dreams to come true <within the construct of whatever is construed as ‘fair play’ within that organization>.

Ideas.

Some people dream of thinking … and thinking up ideas. Imagine a business which encourages the epe who like t come up with ideas actually helps their ideas come to Life … even if they do not directly apply to the business itself.

Huh?

Here is a secret a lot of good business people know. While we love to talk about focus and ‘staying in our lane’ and the danger of less-than-strategic expansion, the truth is that a business can accommodate a shitload of different lanes if they are actually good lanes <and good ideas>. I know when I managed groups while I needed people to focus on what they needed to do … I always encouraged them think about new ideas and talk to me about their ideas – even if it didn’t have shit to do with what we actually did to earn our living. Why did I do that? I could offer a dozen reasons but suffice it to say that it offers them a valuable sounding board for whether they have a viable idea or not <which they liked & appreciated> and I would get the brain working on non-related shit <which invariably gets you thinking about your related shit differently — and I liked that & appreciated it>.

Plus. People like thinking about their dreams even if they can’t actually do them.

Innovations.

I don’t need to say anything about this. This is obvious. The best innovations are usually a reflection of smart dreaming.

Ok. The second.

I believe we need to remind ourselves on occasion that it is okay to dream … and dream big. Remind ourselves that relentlessly pursuing a dream can be inspiring … not discouraging.

Now.

Being a big dreamer doesn’t mean that you walk around with your head in the clouds. It means that you have a purpose … a big purpose that makes your life bigger and fulfills some promise within you. Of course … as usual … the key is to find a balance. Think ground and clouds.

Maybe think about it as being pragmatic with no guardrails. A contradiction? Sure. But big dreams are a contradiction. As a practical relatively pragmatic human race we would never have them … unless some of them defied the odds and actually came true.

Yeah.

Some really do happen.

Anyway.

I like the thought of business accepting the role as a business incubator and actually re-energizing the human spirit toward dreams and dreaming.

I like the thought of a business being a ‘dream incubator’ is fulfilling a role life & society seem to be abdicating.

Look.

I have always been a huge proponent that business should accept a larger role in driving societal norms & mores and, in this case, I actually believe that in doing so the business acumen & success is rewarded.

Whew.

Can you imagine how many resumes a business would get if it said “we want you to make your lives extraordinary, help you make your dreams come true, because if you do … we believe our company will be extraordinary.”

Well. I have said this before … it seems like today’s world is tough on dreamers.

It is hard to be a dreamer and it seems to be easier and easier to blindly move down a beaten path <because you’ve been beaten up by Life>. By the way. This is not suggesting anyone is a “sheep.” It simply means Life is often a grind and as you make choices with regard to making Lie easier in some ways you simply choose the path most taken.

Regardless. We need to remind ourselves on occasion that it is okay to dream … and dream big and that relentlessly pursuing a dream can be inspiring <not discouraging>.

Now. Being a big dreamer doesn’t mean that you walk around with your head in the clouds. It means that you have a purpose … a big purpose that makes your life bigger and fulfills some promise within you.

Of course … as usual … the key is to find a balance. Think ground and clouds. Feet in the clouds and head on the ground. Pragmatic with no limits. A contradiction? Sure. But big dreams are a contradiction. As a practical relatively pragmatic human race we would never have them … unless some of them defied the odds and actually came true. Some really do happen.

Which reminds me <to remind everyone> that big dreams are things … not intangibles. They are not ‘becoming rich’ or ‘being a star’ … they are achieving greatness with an idea or a thought. Anyway. And while there should be a balance … there should be some big dream in all of us for a lot of reasons:

– Sense of Self.

Big dreams have a nice habit of increasing the size of your sense of self. You have to be careful it doesn’t become bigger than yourself and consume you … but big dreams remind you that you can make a big impact in some form or fashion. Maybe not today … but a hope of sometime. Big dreams can not only create some interesting self-purpose in life but it also reminds you that anyone, even you, is capable of the extraordinary. Even if it is just in thought.

————————————

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose & imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.“

Sir Cecil Beaton

————————————–

Maybe that is the biggest part of this ‘sense of self’ thought … it is likely the biggest reason why you wouldn’t want to settle on small dreams … does anyone really want to be a slave of the ordinary?

– Possibilities.

When you dream big things you will find new roads you may want to explore along the way. It is an adventure and sometimes extremely unpredictable and never ordinary. This is because big dreams can push limits of possibility <or what is possible> because it keeps the impossible in life in sight <if you can actually see something like impossible>. It all happens because big dreams are … well … not quantifiable. If they can be <in your head> I would suggest it is not really a dream but an objective or goal. A dream has to be so big it is just an idea … something difficult to put a number on it or a specific GPS coordinate. it is always somewhere on the horizon. And in reaching toward it the possibilities of new roads not taken <and never envisioned nor on any map as a matter of fact> increase significantly.

– Achieving stuff.

Yeah. You may not actually get the big one <the big dream> but typically if you dream big, you increase the odds you actually achieve something. It also increases the odds you actually achieve something relatively great in the scheme of things. In fact. You may even end up achieving more than you ever thought you could <even if it isn’t the big dream you began with>.

Big dreams are the reasons why the world changes … and becomes better. And I say ‘world’ as in if you define it in business … or in life. It’s the reason why there have been so many inventions, new ‘out of the box’ ideas, creations or whatevers. As a business guy I love this following quote for the business big dreamers:

————————-

“New business concepts are always, always the product of lucky foresight. That’s right – the essential insight doesn’t come out of any dirigiste planning process; it comes form some cocktail of happenstance, desire, curiosity, ambition and need. But at the end of the day, there has to be a degree of foresight — a sense of where new riches lie. So radical innovation is always one part fortuity and one part clearheaded vision.”

Gary Hamel, Leading the Revolution

——————–

New concepts inevitably come from one part clearheaded big dreaming.

Same with new ideas. Same with anything really new … and really big. Oh. And along the way a lot of good little stuff happens too.

– Your legacy <and big dreams>

Big dreams give you the opportunity to truly leave your mark on the world in several ways:

You achieve it.

You don’t achieve it <but achieve other shit along the way>.

You don’t achieve it <and it is left for someone else to achieve>.

The first.

The achieving one is obvious. It is satisfying and certainly something at the end of the road you will probably look back on with some satisfaction. I will mention though that most big dreamers update their dreams if they actually attain the original. You never really actually stop dreaming big <but do not tell anyone that>.

The second.

You don’t achieve it but along the road you have veered off on a variety of paths you encountered and did some good shit along the way. Your legacy is strewn with stuff you have left behind. I call this a ‘no regret’ life. You don’t really regret the missed ‘big dream’ cause you lived life doing stuff.

The third.

Oh. And not achieving the big dream … whew … what does happen to big dreams when a dreamer dies?

Here is the good news. A big dream never really dies. Only dreamers do. Someone else grabs it as their own. I think most big dreamers recognize his and are okay with it. Big dreams aren’t really meant to be owned by anyone in particular except Life. They can be achieved by someone <if they are lucky enough to figure out how to do it> but big dreams are visionary.

Some big dreams cannot be fulfilled within a single lifetime. But they are so inspiring that future generations <or someone in that generation> will strive to achieve it.

We chase a lot of things in business. We sometimes chase them so blindly and relentlessly we don’t even recognize the rabbit hole we have started running down.

Differentiation is one of those rabbit holes.

Now.

I have a warped perspective <it includes rabbit holes> with regard to differentiation and differentiating in the business world.

I think it’s a shit objective.

Ok.

It CAN be a shithole objective. But suffice it to say … I believe chasing differentiation is … well … yes … a rabbit hole.

To be clear.

I don’t dislike differentiation … and I believe a well differentiated sustainable idea can dominate a market. But. Chasing differentiation seems to take on some fairly absurd efforts to attain the objective. I worry about differentiation as an objective because it points people in the wrong direction.

If I were to kill this whole differentiation thing, I would begin by saying “define, define, define.”Define yourself with such a clear distinctive thought that permits you stand up and say ‘here is who I am.’

Here is the deal.

Sometimes you may look similar to someone else. But more often you will look like … well … you. And in a sometimes complex fragmented world where everyone is shouting how different they are <and people are becoming more & more cynical> distinctness can win. And more often than not you will also be … well … different. In addition … in today’s world about the only sustainable differentiation isn’t a thing … it is a … well … knowledge, thinking & what you have done with what you learn.

The meaningless rabbit hole. In our blind pursuit of differentiation we can make some fairly absurd decisions with regard to thoughtless specialization, nuanced differentiation and niche definition. In our blind pursuit of differentiation we can gleefully land on some ‘spot’ and declare differentiation victory only to have it all negated because of lack of alignment throughout all aspects of operations.

Attempted, or false/meaningless, differentiation is useless and distracting and a rabbit hole.

Bottom line on differentiation is reckless pursuit encourages us to lie to ourselves … convince ourselves of ‘true difference’ when it is simply meaningless differentiation. And therein lies the worst of the rabbit hole.

Pretending to not see the truth … or maybe <to be kinder> … to pretend it is what it isn’t.

—————

“… the person who pretends to not see the truth is committing something much worse than a mortal sin, which can only ruin one’s soul – but instead committing us all to lifetimes of pain.

The truth is not just something we bring to light to amuse ourselves; the truth is the axis munid, the dead center of the earth.

When it’s out of place nothing is right; everyone is in the wrong place; no light can penetrate. Happiness evades us and we spread pain and misery wherever we go. Each person, above all others, has an obligation to recognize the truth and stand by it.”

Jacque Silette

—————-

Many business people simply ignore truth as they pursue this elusive <and debatably poor objective> thing called differentiation. Far <far> too many business people embrace doubt and the possibility that a stupid belief might have something going for it in the pursuit of ‘differentiation’ … all the while completely ignoring something that makes you distinct <but possibly not different> … let’s call it ‘an obvious and rational truth’… ignoring it because they believe it will get you nowhere.

These are the meetings and discussions in which I often sit dumbfounded and silent and thinking ‘wow … the rabbit hole just gained a whole new crowd of loons.’

—-

“…I was calm on the outside but thinking all the time.”

A Clockwork Orange

———-

Our relentless pursuit of differentiating most often than not leads to an unimportant product feature <not what customers consider valuable>

–——-

“Differentiation is a unique quality, perceived or real, of a good or service that distinguish it from a competing good or service…”

Your Dictionary.com

——–

Look.

I fully realize that the need to be distinctive and competitive are the reasons why the company needs to think about differentiation. However, differentiation can take on so many faces there is no reason you should end up chasing down some rabbit hole for some elusive ‘this is what you MUST seek’ objective as defined by one expert <only to have another expert state unequivocally you need to chase another completely different shiny object>.

Suffice it to say, I can almost guarantee whenever someone brings up differentiation it is more often than not simply code for “please enter this rabbit hole.”

Oh.

The perfection rabbit hole. On a parallel course is a similar group chasing perfection … often ending up in the same rabbit hole as the differentiators <can get awful crowded in that business rabbit hole>. The pursuit of perfection is an insidious rabbit hole. Its stench seeps into the darkest corners of an organization. And while the stench is enough to make anyone’s stomach heave most organizations have people with no real ability and yet strive to maintain an aura of ability under the guise of ‘seeking perfection for the good of the organization.’

More good employees are actually LED into the perfection rabbit hole than employees who actually CHOOSE to dive into the perfection rabbit hole.

That said.

Organizations are built over this particular rabbit hole. Every organization. It is the unfortunate burden of every organization to deal with the pursuit of perfection.

Anyway.

————–

“Just because you took longer than others doesn’t mean you failed.”

=

Hassann

—————

Maybe that is my biggest point about rabbit holes and business. Some of the things we seek most in business … whether it be differentiation or perfection or whatever silly thing you have decided will better your business … always seem to take longer than what you want. We get impatient. And if we get really thoughtful about this whole impatience … we would realize that our aggravation is with Life and not any inability within ourselves <or even in assessment the foolish pursuit of this un-real reality objective>.

—

Note:

we SHOULD be more thoughtful about this more often … mostly because if we do not far too many of the wrong people get fired <the right ones> and too many of the wrong people <the wrong ones> get praised and encouraged to maintain the ‘pursuit’ for the good f the organization.

—

Regardless.

Life does not suffer fools lightly. Life is oblivious to your impatience <and relatively indifferent to you in general>. And Life bleeds into any and every organization.

How does Life deal with the fools and silly impatient people? Rabbit holes.

It gives us rabbit holes to chase after silly things and dive into in our relentless pursuit of attaining “it” and waste our lives wandering aimlessly within.

But here is where Business and personal Life diverge.

In personal Life you are responsible for the stupid choices you make. Choose to enter a rabbit hole and the issue is all yours to own. In business you can actually get shoved into a rabbit hole whether you want to or not.

All I can tell you is that when I hear someone leading a discussion about ‘how are we different’ and ‘what’s our differentiation?” I start swiveling my head around scanning for rabbit holes.

All I can tell you is that when I hear someone in the hallway espousing the need to pursue perfection I start swiveling my head around scanning for rabbit holes.

All I can tell you is that when I am in a meeting and someone is discussing both differentiation and perfection I don’t swivel my head … I just sigh … because I know I am already in a rabbit hole.

These are all things clearly in your control. These are all things clearly you own.

Now.

This ownership isn’t easy. It isn’t because … well … what you own a shitload of people and things and Life are constantly seeking ways to steal it. Yeah. I said steal. They try to wrest all of, well, “you” out of your control so they can steal it and rplace it wit something they would prefer (or want). Oh. I will also say owning a good security system will not do shit for you.

You need to learn self-defense. And by self defense I actually mean defending against your self <and not someone or something else>. You have to choose to fight yourself.

Fight against some nasty instincts <which more often than not head you in the wrong direction>.

Fight against temptation <of which the world has an endless array it constantly parades in front of you>.

Many of us flippantly state “I am my own person and nothing owns me”and, yet, under the glaring spotlight of truth & reality we will find that more of us is owned by someone or something than we would like.

So what do we do when that happens?

Many of us shrug our shoulders when faced with this harsh truth and say “those are not the important things” or “that’s just Life.”

Well.

It is not ‘just Life’ and they are not just ‘little unimportant things.’ It is your Life and they are your things.

More of us should stop, take a moment, and think about whether we want to react to external ownership efforts <stealing> or proactively “fight myself” over the right to own myself. yeah. Sometimes you not only have to be aware of what you own you also have to be aware enough to fight your instincts to let them be stolen because its either not important enough or too hard to fight at that moment.

The moral of the Tortoise and the Hare shouldn’t be “slow and steady wins the race.” The Tortoise only won because the Hare kept getting distracted. The moral should instead be “stay on task.”

=============

So.

Some people have the flair for the dramatic in business. They make it look easy. I would actually point out they are stellar at staying on task in business <which permits the moments of flair>. Now. Staying on task has different dimensions. The most basic are <a> staying on task throughout and <b> being focused in the moments that matter in the task.

The second isn’t as easy as you may think.

You have to be on task in the first place and then you actually have to recognize the moment that matters. In sports this is easier because sports has a tendency to ‘present’ the moment that matter, but in business these moments tend to be a little more sneaky.

Regardless.

Moments that matter are truly the moments in which it doesn’t matter whether you are a tortoise or a hare. In these types of moments all becomes one, judged equally, and … well … times stands still and you either produce or you don’t.

Everything that came before and all that comes after is kind of irrelevant.

Everything gets squeezed into what you do in that moment.

And this is where the flair for the dramatic can occur.

Well.

It seems dramatic only because <a> doing the dramatic is special (not everyone can do it> and <b> ‘having a flair’ implies the person can deliver ‘the goods’ in the moment more than once and possibly on a relatively consistent basis. Suffice it to say … anyone who has a flair for the dramatic deserves not only some accolades but also some analysis.

On the analysis front I would argue that this person has a key attribute with two dimensions – a unique type of focus which <a> has the ability to recognize the massive amount of self-imposed distractions which inevitably slows other people down … and shuts them out and <b> has the ability to ‘slow things down.’

I think this focus permits a person to ignore all the expectations placed upon their decision <but accept that they are there>, and ignore the inherent pressure to live up to the monumental things that people around the person expect him/her to do … and constantly lives up to them.

By the way.

If you can also do this with some class, dignity, integrity and humility … well … you will earn gobs of money.

I would suggest that this person embodies this formula:

Expertise = secure = confidence.

Winning in these business moments is often more about confidence, and how the attitude enables clear ‘non-hedging’ articulation of what can be done, than anything else. And that confidence embraces real expertise brought to the fore by that unique focus I described.

All that said. Here is why I really like these people. I abhor social chameleons: people who change to impress whoever they happen to be with. I will note, 99% of the time, chameleons suck in the moments that matter. In fact. If I were a betting man, I would bet that anyone you may know with a flair for the dramatic is not a chameleon.

At the core of almost any person with the flair for the dramatic is someone who knows who they are and knows who they ain’t … and stays true to that day in and day out.

That ‘trueness’ permits this person to offer a steady consistency on the ‘task at hand’ which is not about maintaining one speed but rather maintaining a consistent sense for how to adjust pacing accordingly. And what THAT means is that this person is also more likely to spot the moment that matters and zero in with their unique focus in that moment. I cannot tell you how important, and how valuable, this is. I say that because I sometimes think while we admire the people with the flair for the dramatic we diminish the abilities that actually permit it to happen.

Why do I say that?

Business systems, more often than not, are a bit more complicated in their underlying dynamics than simplistic theory or simplistic diagrams attempting to create structure to an organization and its dynamics with the market & consumers/buyers. I would draw a picture to show you this but I would suggest that you cannot draw a picture for what is <because it is obsolete as soon as it is drawn> and you cannot draw a picture for what will be <because predicting multi-dimensional dynamics is outside the purview of reality>. It is actually like a big swirling mass of fragments <not chaos, just movement>.

Therefore, in business, moments that matter are most likely found within a spinning Rubik cube and the ones who have the fair for the dramatic have the ability to actually step in, at exactly the right moment, and in that moment solve the Rubik cube. Seeing as I, personally, have never solved a Rubik cube … this sounds particularly complicated and sounds like it would take an incredible skill in order to do.

That is what someone in business with a flair for the dramatic does.

All that said.

This skill is a version of slowing down to speed up. And you cannot pay enough money to a business person who has the ability to know when to slow down to enable effective speeding up … or to pause to accept some responsibility <or explain> … or to fast forward at the right time.

That is why you cannot pay enough money to a business person who has the ability to stand still without really standing still.

What I mean by that is this is the business person who can seemingly pause in the midst of play <on multiple dimensions> and grab the Rubik cube and solves it. Not a lot of people can do that.

I don’t care if you call this a flair for the dramatic.

I don’t care if you call it ‘slowing down to speed up.’

I don’t care if you call this “an ability to slow things down mentally.”

All I know is you should call it a person who you want in your business.